UCAFANS.COM | GO UCA BEARS!

UCA@UAF

UCA 35-25=60
UAF 41-56=96

Again, first half OK if not better than OK...then H2 a disaster on scoreboard....not sure anyone had UCA staying within 10 for the game but falling back by 31 in one half is pretty stout even for a very good and ranked team....give UAF credit for a good team....

UCA/UAF:
FG%: 40% v 55%.....UAF +23 made for 2s!!
3s%: 43% v 22%....Bears actually +5 made..pretty solid 3s shooting
FT%: 47% v 50%..neitehr good here...both will lose games unless they clean this up....a little home court advantage as UAF made almost as many as we shot....
Rebs: 5-6-31 vs 13-34-47..got whipped here ....UAF +44 PIP
TOs: 25 v 12..not good but UAF had 16 steals!! Without steals TOs were only 9 v 6....got to clean up ball handling....19 UCA TOs by starters

Bears had three in double figures.....Cooper with 13 and Hall and Hunter each had 12....they were 7/12 on 3s.....they also had 17 TOs....

Now on to Jonesboro for 4pm tip Sta at A-State....in D1 games RWs are 2-2 as below:

Loss @ Illinois, 53-92...pretty tough place to play
Win @ SEMO, 72-60
Loss vs Morehead State, 51-75
Win vs UMKC, 66-55.....UMKC usually good basketball....lost to Minnesota and Iowa but beat Mizzou at COMO.....

Bears have by far played the tougher schedule so far....like to see it pay off vs A-State.....Go Bears!!

Hey Everyone....kind of fell off of here for the past several months. Been busy working among other things.

First of all, I have not seen the Bears play, but have listened a little to Justin. In recent games, it sounds like they start out pretty competitive and then just run out of gas in the second half.

Like an earlier post, I am just in hopes of the Bears being competitive, but that may be too much to ask for. You have heard my arguments before about money games and I know we have to schedule some of them, but I still question how many is too many.

Boone needs help, but unfortunately he is not going to get it from Brad Teague.

Teague needs to go, but that is not happening.

12/4/21@A-State

UCA 35-47=82 (1-8)
ASU 51-44=95 (5-2)

UCA/ASU:
FG%: 46% v 57% ... UCA +1 made 2s
3s%: 29% v 50% ... ASU +2 made
FT%: 71% v 87%.... ASU +9 made
Rebs: 24 v 37 .....Bears had 15 o-rebs...much better
TOs: 13 v 18... Bears +4 POTO...much better ball handling

Basically FTs were the difference.....Darious Hall had a tremendous 30/9 game shooting 60% FG%.....Vincent Reeves added 11 and Collin Cooper tossed in 9....

Glad to see strong o-rebs, fewer TOs and winning H2....however, got down by 22 in H1 and had to battle back.....just not enough juice to do that....now to play solid in both halves....

Next up is UALR on 12/14 at FC....Go Bears!!

If this team ever puts two halves together, they might be OK. I guess it is alot like learning how to win.

Some of you guys who have seen them play, please chime in...sounds like they have some good young talent, but no go to guy. Despite the record, has the Bears been competitive in some games this year ?

Haven’t seen either of the basketball teams
the past two seasons but have kept up with
results. Unlike the other athletic programs
at UCA, the move to D1 has not been a good
thing. Its a shame , but neither program seems
to have progressed at all over time. The men’s
team for sure has taken a big step backwards.
Won less than 5 games last year and on pace it
Seems to have the same results this season.

I know all the contributing factors involved in
trying to achieve stability in the program and I’m
Not pointing fingers at anyone. I know
Coach Boone is a man of integrity and he
has a locker room full of outstanding young men
who are successful in the classroom and represent
the university well. And at the end of the day
this might be all that’s important, but it would
be nice to see the team be able to compete once
in a while. I’m getting tired of hearing that we
Played with them for a half and then lose by 30+

Feel the same as to the Bears....still, there were several years when we were one player away from a 20-win season but that is no consolation....

I disagree as to the SugarBears.....they did quite well for quite a while after moving to D1, even getting to the NCAAs...no small feat.....they have had several outstanding players who played at a very high level.... most notably Megan Herbert.....I think the Southland eventually caught up with UCA, McNeese and Lamar and the last few seasons have been less successful .....

Men's basketball has been very tough for years but women's has really elevated the past 10 years....

Still hoping both teams improve this season....not going to be easy...ASUN teams have long basketball traditions....

Yeah I agree…the Sugarbears have been fairly consistent and
competitive since the move to D1. I am mainly referring to
the men’s team. And I know the terrible effects that were
left when Corliss tucked his tail and ran. I have no respect
for him. Maybe it’s too soon to have expectations for
much more. When you have to start from scratch to
Build something it takes a while.

Hoping I can get to a game or two this season....hard to tell about the Bears especially with all the new players...just so hard to tell much from the stats alone....I would like to see firsthand how they block out, rebound, pass the ball, defend, drive the lane, work the baseline, etc....is the talent just not enough....has the team just not jelled....is there an effort issue....is the talent there but not playing disciplined ball.....I can take losing to Top 20 and P5 conference teams on their home courts.....it is the losses to ASU, VMI, Presby and UNO that confuse me...should be closer games at least down to the last possession....my hope has been to win a few in the pre-ASUN then go 50/50 in ASUN....in my view that would be a big step....maybe the UALR game will be a pleasant surprise...the win over ORU gives a glimmer of reason for better days ahead...Go Bears!!

Not sure I know what "mid major" really includes ....see 12/6/21 poll at link below...

http://www.collegeinsider.com/mens-mid-major-top-25

The poll defines mid major as the following conferences:

"The Mid-Major Poll is made up of teams from the following conferences: America East, Atlantic Sun, Big Sky, Big South, Big West, Colonial, Horizon, Ivy, Metro Atlantic, Mid-American, Mid-Eastern, Missouri Valley, Northeast, Ohio Valley, Patriot, Southern, Southland, Southwestern, Summit, Sun Belt, West Coast, Western Athletic."


This list excludes the P5 plus American, CUSA, A10, Big East and WAC.....the latter seems odd to exclude from MM....as does A10.....

Note that Liberty is ranked 22nd.....ASUN member FGCU also gets votes...

There are no ranked SLC schools but TAMCC gets votes.....

SFA gets a few votes...as does ORU.....

Surprisingly no Sunbelt teams are ranked but Georgia State did get a few votes...

By the way, UALR was thumped tonight by Missouri State (29 votes in the poll) by 81-55.....A-State outlasted UAPB by 84-73......

12/18/21 @ Missouri State

UCA 30-40=70 (1-9)
MSU 45-61=107 (8-4)

UCA/MSU:

FG%: 44% v 53%...MSU +1 made
3s%: 17% v 50%...MSU +13 made
FT%: 94% v 92%...UCA +5 made
Rebs: 8-20/28 v 14-23/37....M SU +12 2nd chance and +16 PIP
TOs: 11 v 5 ...Purple Bears MUCH better but not able to force TOs..still MSU was +14 POTO

Darious Hall had an excellent game with a 18/10 DD with 3As....Hunter, Chatham and Baker also nice scoring game in double figures....all four at or above 50% FG%....Maroon Bears were +17 on shots taken......and 16/32 for 3s....Coach seemed to think our defense was effective in pushing them further out but they were red hot from NBA distance...

12/20/21 vs Hendrix

HC 24-32-56 (6-3)
UCA 47-43=90 (2-9)

UCA/HC:

FG%: 53% v 36%....Bears +11 on made 2s
3s%: 31% v 15%...Bears +5 made
FT%: 86% v 79% ....HC +3 made
Rebs: 11-31/42 v 6-22/30 .....Bears +14 2nd chance
TOs: 11 v 17....Bears +8 POTO..too many but at least 19 steals and blocks

As said in the past, these games are basically exhibitions...if the team worked on fundamentals and made some improvement, even just in on court teamwork, then it was a success....stats do not mean much......scorers did what they were supposed to....glad to see Kayouloud get 28 minutes (and 20 points) ...need him to play lots of minutes well starting now.....

Next game @TexasA&M on 12/29/21 at 7pm.....then close out 2021 at home vs Champion.....then then the real season starts on 1/4/22 @EKU top at 6pm...

So far TAM is 9-2 with only losses to TCU by 68-64 at home and 69-58 at Wisconsin.....Aggies are 5-0 vs old SLC but slipped by ACU in OT by only 81-80....best wins are 57-50 at Butler and 73-67 at Notre Dame....

https://ucasports.com/news/2021/12/27/mens-basketball-klintman-earns-asun-weekly-honor.aspx

University of Central Arkansas' Ibbe Klintman was named the ASUN Conference Newcomer of the Week on Monday after his performance against Hendrix last week.

Klintman, a 6-foot-8, 200-pound guard/forward from Malmo, Sweden, filled up his box score in UCA's 90-56 win over the Warriors. Klintman had 15 points, 6 rebounds, 6 assists, 3 steals and 1 blocked shot, which were all career highs. Klintman was starting his second consecutive game for the Bears.

For the season, Klintman is averaging 3.6 points and 1.8 rebounds per game.

12/29/21 @Texas A&M

UCA 34-25=59 (2-10)
TAM 35-50=85 (11-2)

UCA/TAM:

FG%: 42% v 50%.....TAM +16 made 2s
3s% 44% v 40%....Bears +4 made
FT%: 70% v 52%...TAM +6 made...Aggies made more than Bears shot...
Rebs: 6-23/29 v 14-22/36...TAM +15 2nd chance points
TOs: 23 v 17...TAM +31 POTO...

Seems like we played with them pretty well for 31 minutes....we must have run out of gas in last 10 minutes.....Bear starters play 55 more minutes than TAM starters....TAM bench was +31 in scoring vs Bears....classic being worn down by greater depth....

Back home vs Champion Christian on Friday at noon...then the ASUN fun starts.....Go Bears!!

https://ucasports.com/news/2021/12/29/mens-basketball-bears-battle-but-fall-to-aggies.aspx

BEARS BATTLE BUT FALL TO AGGIES

COLLEGE STATION, Texas _ For a little more than 30 minutes Wednesday night, the University of Central Arkansas Bears were the equal of the Texas A&M Aggies on their home floor.

But the Aggies, UCA's third Power 5 opponent of the season, exerted themselves down the stretch and pulled away to an 85-59 victory at Reed Arena.

UCA, which connected on a season-high12 three-pointers, was down just one at halftime (35-34) and within one point again at the 9:16 mark of the second half (54-53). But from there, the Aggies outscored UCA 31-6 to win going away. Turnovers were an issue for the Bears, who finished with 23, including 13 in the first half.

Sophomore guard Collin Cooper and true freshman guard Camren Hunter led the Bears with 12 points each, with Hunter going 3 of 3 from three-point range and Cooper adding four threes.

"I thought we played very well for 30 minutes,' said UCA head coach Anthony Boone. "We were down one with eight or nine minutes left, but after that we kind of just let go of the rope. But I think it was the longest stretch we've played well, including the Oral Roberts game that we won.

"I'm just disappointed in the last few minutes.'

The Bears turned it over five times in the opening four minutes but eventually settled down and found their range from the perimeter. UCA hit six consecutive three-pointers for an 18-0 scoring run and led the Aggies 26-13 with 9:00 remaining in the first half. But A&M answered with a 19-2 spurt that returned the lead to the home team at the final media time out.

UCA freshman Camren Hunter, who had a game-high 12 first-half points, made three free throws and his third three-pointer of the game over the final three minutes. Eddy Kayouloud scored on a drive with 40 seconds remaining for a 34-33 lead, and then rebounded an A&M miss but had it stolen and the Aggies finished the half with a layup for a 35-34 lead at the break.

UCA was 7 of 12 (58.3 percent) from beyond the arc in the first half, and shot 48 percent overall.

"We knew with the way they guarded, we would get some good, open looks,' said Boone. "They play very strong help-side defense and sometimes they over help and leave guys open on the weak side. They were going to commit to the guys driving and leave those other guys wide open.

"We worked on that over the last couple of days and the guys executed that, after the first few minutes, very well.'

The Bears got three-pointers from six different players, including the first of the season from sophomore Masai Olowokere in his third game and the second from graduate forward Jared Chatham. UCA was just 7 of 10 at the free-throw line while A&M shot 25 free throws but only made 13 (52 percent).

Junior Darious Hall added 8 points and 8 rebounds for the Bears who held their own on the boards with the SEC foe.

The Bears return home Friday for a quick turnaround, hosting Champion Christian at noon on Scottie Pippen Court at the Farris Center. The inaugural ASUN Conference season begins on the road on Tuesday, Jan. 4 in Richmond, Ky., against the Eastern Kentucky Colonels.

UCA was an 18.5 point dog to EKU.

UCA won.